Students, Youth Fuel Jubilee Hills Campaigns
With about ten days left for polling, parties and candidates are trying to rope in more students to intensify their campaigns during the final stretch.
Hyderabad: Students and unemployed youth in Jubilee Hills are playing a key role in the ongoing by-election campaigns, as political parties seek energetic hands to reach more voters. With the campaign entering a crucial phase, the Congress, BRS, BJP and independent candidates are relying on young volunteers to manage social media pages, go door-to-door, and participate in rallies.
Many students living in hostels and PGs across Ameerpet, Krishnanagar, and Yousufguda see this as an opportunity to earn pocket money while getting a first-hand look at politics. Speaking with Deccan Chronicle, youngsters said they were approached at hostels, coaching centres, and even through friends and WhatsApp groups for campaign work.
“Payments depend entirely on the task. My friends and I are doing social media work — engaging with the candidate’s posts and sharing them across groups and channels. On average, we get paid around Rs 500 per day just for sharing posts,” said Krishna, an engineering student from Ameerpet. For those who recently completed their studies and are yet to find stable jobs, campaign work has become a temporary source of income.
Another student, who requested anonymity, said, “I took part in a motorcycle rally recently. They asked us to come with our bikes and paid me `500 for two hours and gave a biryani packet. My friend who rode pillion got Rs 200 and another biryani packet.” He added that some volunteers go house-to-house with corporators and local leaders and are paid in thousands.
Local political leaders said young workers help connect with first-time voters and tech-savvy residents. A politician from Vengalrao Nagar, managing his party’s marketing programmes, said, “Youngsters bring fresh ideas. They’re enthusiastic, quick and frankly quite inexpensive. One girl works for us as a video editor — we pay her Rs 200 per video, and she makes excellent videos for us.”
With about ten days left for polling, parties and candidates are trying to rope in more students to intensify their campaigns during the final stretch.
